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"Neji, how long do we have to keep this up!?" huffed the acrobat, her hands on her knees, sweat glistening on her hairline. She had a single eye closed, her body aching in places people would never suspect.
The Hyuuga boy gave her a a glance, one apathetic to her whine. He was Jounin now, he didn't care if a simple Chuunin, such as herself, was tired after only a few hours of training. "We need the practice," was all he said.
"Neji is right, Tenten," added on the other Chuunin of the group, Rock Lee. His suit had sweat stains down the chest and under the arms, but he kept up his kicks on the tree. Any more of those and the trunk would soon splinter into nothing. "We have not been on a mission in so long, and therefor, we must make Gai-sama proud with all of the extra training we've put in. Besides, I want to be in top physical condition when Lady Hokage has an assignment for us. Our youth will shine throughout what ever mission we are--"
"Will you stop your blabbering?" cut in the Jounin, a glare in his translucent eyes.
Lee, his thick brows usually always in a furrow, only frowned more inward. "What? I am only saying that--"
"You're only wasting time."
"Ugh!" scoffed the taijutsu prodigy, curling his fist at Neji, a fire igniting in his eyes. "You watch your tongue or it will be you that I shall practice my kicks on!"
The Hyuuga boy smirked and came into his stance. Lee grimaced and pounced.
"Easy! Easy!" shouted Tenten, stepping between the two, catching Lee's leg and Neji's palm. "Save it for what ever Tsunade cooks up, okay?"
They relaxed. Honestly, it could be so tiring having rivals for teammates. After all of these years of being on the same team together, you would think they would finally submit to some sort of bond. Nope. She got the only two shinobi in the world that that didn't seem to apply to. Even Naruto and Sasuke came to respect one another on some level. But that was all right. She had gotten much practice in medicine and taijutsu techniques just by ending their little squabbles. Still, Tenten couldn't help but wish that they would argue just a little less. It was always so stressful.
Practice continued from there in silence. It was only broken by occasional groans or huffs, and then the sudden rustling of bushes, where their sensei, Maito Gai, emerged with a sparkling grin.
"We have a mission!" he projected, thrusting a fist into the air, turning it to a dramatic "thumbs up".
Lee rejoiced. Leaping into the air, tears of happiness formed benath his closed lids. "Oh, joy! The time has come for us to prove ourselves!" And then he copied his mentor's pose.
Neji and Tenten exchanged a glance.
"When do we leave?" asked the brunette, tightening the hair in her buns as she spoke.
"First thing tomorrow morning," announced Gai. He rose a guiding finger. "So get all this packed up, head home, and get a good night's rest. We must shine our youth onto our assignment!"
The girl narrowed her eyes, shifting them to the side. Now, where had she heard that before? So, that was that. The day had rolled to an end as the three teens gathered their belongings and headed for home. Personally, Tenten wasn't sure if she would be able to sleep at all. It had been so long since they had had a mission. And, knowing Gai, they had gotten one suited more at Neji's level than their own, but she didn't mind. She would prove herself. That was always her goal when they went out on missions. She would show how much she had improved. She would never let the sexist steriotype -- boys better than girls -- keep her down. The Weapons Misstress was strong, and she knew it.
Once the sun rose over the horizion, it would begin. This is what shinobi were made for; protecting people, saving lives, all that jazz. And for that, she smiled. There was no other occupation she'd rather have.
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